rain on my parade

The girl with a stained-glass heart that illuminates the whole room is everything you never knew you wanted. Her life is a mosaic of heaven and hell. You want to experience both.

[deadgirlwalkingxx]

[ welcome home, sucker ] [bea + rae ]

[rae-deaton]

deadgirlwalkingxx‌:

Bea snapped her eyes open, drew in a breath, and immediately became very confused. She was staring upwards, her view of the sky obscured by trees. She looked around herself from her spot on the forest floor. That’s when she begun to panic. At that moment it clicked- she was in the spot she died in. Bea jumped up in a panic, whimpering. What was going on? Would Porter show up at any moment? Before anything else could happen, Bea took off. She was barefoot as she ran through the woods. Nothing was making sense. What was going on? Was this some place after the In-Between? Where was everyone else? But then she exited the forest and ran onto Cape Jane’s main street. She stopped dead when her feet hit the store-lined street. Lights, sounds, voices- all of them were overwhelming her brain. But that’s when she realized…she was alive. 

That’s Bea Harland? She heard someone say in a whispered voice. Bea looked over towards the road that would have taken her home and took off. She was crying now, her tears stinging her cheeks as she went. Even as she ran she could tell that everything looked the same. The same, but somehow different. Bea stopped as she approached her street. She could smell the ocean water. Any kid who grew up on the docks could. She’d forgotten the smell during her time in the In-Between. But now it was coming back, hitting her in the face full force. If she hadn’t already been crying then that would have done the trick. Memories came rushing back to her, a million at a time. 

But there was one thing she couldn’t stop thinking about: where was Rae? Where were all of them? Then she took off again, oblivious to how terrifying she must have looked. A girl with dried blood over her face, arms, and legs. She had scars from wounds where Porter would have stabbed her. Her sweatshirt, the one she’d left school wearing that day, was completely bloody. Her jeans too. Finally she came to her own house. The tiny blue and white thing with faded shutters and the old porch. She ran up the steps and to the front door, immediately opening it. 

When she did, she was struck by a sight that took her breath away. Her parent and Rae. The moment the door burst open, her parents had jumped in surprise. But the real shock came when they saw her. Their daughter who had been murdered almost eight years ago was standing in front of them. They seemed confused, happy, and terrified. Maybe they thought they were hallucinating. Both moved towards her and after a few seconds of inspecting, burst into tears and hugged her. Bea was shaking, completely overwhelmed with everything that was happening to her. “I don’t understand,” she finally said, looking away from her parents and to Rae.

They were just as kind as Bea had always said that they were. As soon as narrow shoulders slumped down and her eyes welled with tears, the other girl’s mother pulled her into her arms. She smelled sweet, like her perfume was something intended to smell like a garden in spring and her hold was tight. She couldn’t remember what it was like to be coddled by someone matronly, Vanessa Deaton hadn’t had the capability; she loved little more than herself and it showed in her parenting. “Jude,” Bea’s mother said over her shoulder, her hands rubbing at the knobs of Rae’s spine. “Why don’t you make some tea?”

And they invited her in, making a spot on the couch for the lost girl, offering her tissues to dry the tears that stained her cheeks and tracked down dark mascara. She murmured her thank you’s and had to remind herself not to tuck her feet up onto the couch— instead, she brought her elbows in and focused on quieted her heart, making herself small in other ways.

“How do you know Bea?”

She blurted the question as if she would be afraid of the response and Rae was startled by it, looking up to find a sad set of curious eyes studying her features. She wanted to speak, to fill in the puzzle piece that she knew was missing— I recognize you too, Schaefer; she wanted to say, your locker was right across from mine in tenth grade. She took a sip of the tea, willing her shaking fingers to slow. “She’s my friend.”

She could see the way that the word made Bea’s father wince, he wanted to say was, to correct her— to give a reason for his pain. But the door opened, and the past-tense no longer applied. Rae’s tears, momentarily stopped, now threatened to overflow, terrified by the way that dark red clung to Bea’s clothing and skin. What had happened? Had it happened again? She knew that her friend had been murdered, but she didn’t look hurt, instead, she folded into her parents’ ready arms.

When she spoke, Rae shook her head. “I don’t know.” The words were muddied, her hand rubbed at her cheek. “I woke up and I was home, but it’s not my home anymore.” Dark brows tugged in and she trembled. “Someone else lives there.”

[deadgirlwalkingxx]

[ welcome home, sucker ] [bea + rae ]

[rae-deaton]

deadgirlwalkingxx‌:

For the second time in her life, she felt the pain that comes with death. It was like the entire town around her had died. All of them gone, yet she was left standing. Of course, there was a chance that others were still left in the In-Between, but just tucked away in their homes or elsewhere. She’d stayed at Rahi’s home for a bit, hoping that somehow whatever had taken the others would find her. But didn’t. So she sat in this once warm home that was now blanketed by coldness. She stared at his patchwork couch, zoning out for spaces of time. Getting up and leaving the room meant leaving the house, which meant venturing out into the In-Between. She knew she wouldn’t see anyone else, and the truth was that she didn’t want to accept that.

Eventually, though, she did. The weather now was wild. Snow was raining down in droves. If there was anyone else left, they’d, no doubt, be indoors. Bea hung tighter onto her sweater, sights set on her own home. The one that was now haunted. She didn’t want to go back, but she really didn’t have a choice. Town Hall was closed off, and she didn’t have the mental wherewithal to dream something up. Plus, it didn’t feel right to do that without Rae. As she flopped down onto her couch, her thoughts drifted to her brunette friend. The two got along like a house on fire. One moment they hadn’t known each other and the next they were the best of friends. It was what Bea, and Rae, had needed at the time. 

After a time, she stood up and made her way towards her picture window. The snow was covering the bottom portion of it now. She begun imagining the fun her and Rae would have had. Bea stood with a blanket around her, looking out at the snow covered neighborhood around her. Then something odd happened. She felt the blanket disappear, giving a gasp of surprise. Then she was gone in the blink of an eye.

Rae’s heart hammered against her ribs, ricocheting against the cage that kept it intact, mimicking the slam of her fist against the door. In her ears, she could hear it’s voracious beat, but the whole rest of the neighbourhood seemed to slow-- and then stilled as if shocked that a girl as poorly put together as she dared to disturb the afternoon’s peace. It waited with bated breath and Rae tasted fear, stepping back from the door. A moment stretched by, sticky as tar, and then another. She debated bolting, heading in any direction-- but as she looked quickly over her shoulder, the door swung open.

Bea’s father answered. He looked just as she imagined, just as described. Rae wanted to reach out-- to touch him, make sure that he was real. He looked tired, a little older. Dark brows tugged in as he looked her up and down. “Is everything alright?” 

Rae’s mouth opened, but she found herself wordless. Dark eyes threatened to grow crystalline, she could already feel the threat of a tear at the corners. Instead, she tugged at her sleeves, pulling the fabric into her palms and balling them up. “Where’s Bea?” Her lip trembled, she could see the man’s face break a little too. Maybe he’d forgotten about her for a moment, grief was like that-- you started to think less and less of those that had passed; until they were no longer the most present thing in your mind. To speak her name felt like she was inflicting a new wound. “Scaefer?” He called behind him, “Can you come here?”

And then there were two of them, standing in front of a girl whose body shook like a tuning rod. Rae’s mouth felt dry and she looked between the two of them. “Where’s Bea?” Her voice was raised a little more now, demanding an answer from two people who likely tormented themselves with the same query. Their own eyes looked glassy, Rae could feel tears on her cheeks. 

“Is this a joke?”

She was lost. Frightened, her arms wrapped around her shoulders and she shook her head, keeping it down to hide the way her features crumpled in despair.

[deadgirlwalkingxx]

[ welcome home, sucker ] [bea + rae ]

[rae-deaton]

deadgirlwalkingxx‌:

No reply. This didn’t immediately worry Bea. She turned to double check that the DVD player setting was correct. When she turned around and there was still no response from Rae, Bea felt something odd settle in her stomach. “Rae?” She didn’t move, stood waiting in the living room fully expecting to hear Rae call back at any moment. When silence continue to ring throughout the room, Bea knew something was up. Rae wouldn’t do something like this as a joke. As she approached the kitchen she tried to think of excuses that would explain away the crash and no response from Rae. 

When she entered the kitchen, that’s when the true horror started. On the floor was the now broken bowl from which Rae had been eating out of only moments prior. Bea knelt down, touching the shards of the bowl. “Rae Deaton?” ‘Come on, answer me’ she told herself. No answer again. Bea walked through the kitchen and into the front living room- no sign of Rae. Maybe she went upstairs without me knowing, she thought. She took the steps two at a time, searching through every single room. Nothing. Panic really started to set in now. Something like this had never happened. There hadn’t been a disappearance in the In-Between. No one had ever just disappeared without a trace. So Bea ran down the steps and out of her house. Jumping off of her porch- completely skipping the steps, she ran to Rae’s house. It took a mere two seconds given that the girls lived right next door to one another.

Bea gently pushed open the front door, still hoping that she’d see Rae there. I forgot something, thought I’d just quickly run over to get it, maybe her friend would say. “Rae? Are you here?” Bea closed her eyes and waited for a response. Nothing again. Even though she knew it wouldn’t matter, she check every room in Rae’s house. Where was she? It wasn’t possible to simply disappear. “No, no, no, no.” She mumbled to herself as she ran out of Rae’s house. Bea ran into town, hoping that she’d see someone. Maybe Jake or Rahi. Maybe they would have an idea as to where she could be. The moment she stepped foot into the town square, she knew something was off. It was still snowing, and the wind was picking up now. It was whipping her curls around her face. She stood staring at the building, chest heaving. “Hello? Anyone?”

The only response she got was the howl of the wind. It scared her. Again she asked herself, what was going on? She couldn’t simply give up, so she found herself running from building to building. Each one she was met with a similar showing- emptiness. It was eery. She decided to check someone else’s house, running to Rahi’s. When she entered she felt her blood run cold. It seemed, just like Rae, he’d disappeared on the spot. The TV was still playing and right in front of the couch, as though he’d simply dropped it, was a spilled bowl of Cheetos. She collapsed onto the floor and started to sob. Where had they gone? And why was she left alone?

The streets were different now. Rae walked along the sidewalk, shoving her hands deep into her pockets. Had they been visible, she was certain that she would have seen her digits, adorned with rings, tremble in fear. What had happened? Her eyes widened when she realized that the home she had careened into was none other than her own. It looked newer now than it had a quarter century ago, having benefitted from a fresh coat of paint and a new roof. When she had lived there it had been characterized by the porch, sagging like a smile and a front lawn that was more weeds than grass.

It was nice to see it being taken care of-- she didn’t even recognize the name on the mailbox. Rae began to move, looking around to pick out anything else she knew. Cars that she didn’t know of lined the street and the toe of her scuffed sneaker tripped over an uneven sidewalk. The world had changed, and the impact against the asphalt shocked her. It stung.

Pain, when absent for so long can flood back and feel almost exciting. She rammed her foot against the sidewalk again, feeling a jolt like electricity. She was alive. Rae’s heart hammered inside her chest-- she had to find Bea. Picking through the neighbourhood she crossed through the park and down the streets: had they lived at the same time, they’d of only been a five-minute walk away. 

The girl stopped at the front door, wiping her fingers under her eyes to clean up the makeup before pounding hard on the door. 

[deadgirlwalkingxx]

[ welcome home, sucker ] [bea + rae ]

[rae-deaton]

deadgirlwalkingxx‌:

“Should have known you’d say that movie.” The two of them never ran out of movies to watch, but somehow managed to watch the same one every now and again. There was plenty of time for them to watch any number of movies. They had forever, after all. These sort of days were the ones they spent with only each other. Hours upon hours of movies, talking, and eating. Some days were meant to be more private, but it wasn’t like that always. There were days where all of them got together and played board games. Days where they went to some corner of the In-Between and dreamt up something wild and spent ages playing around. But today she was glad to just have Rae. 

Bea pushed herself away from the pastel purple countertop and walked towards the entrance to the living room. “I’m gonna get the movie set up and I’ll be back.” She made it to the wooden archway before she turned around and looked back in Rae’s direction. “Do not eat all of the muddy buddies in my absence!!” With that she turned back around and walked into the living room, fingers sifting through the DVD shelf. After a few seconds of searching she managed to locate the movie Rae had picked out and had plucked it from the shelf. Bea popped the DVD into the system and stood back to make sure everything was in order. CRASH. She jumped as she heard a clatter coming from the kitchen. Bea fully expected to hear Rae give a shout of some kind, but there was nothing. “Rae, you okay?”

“When it’s good, it’s good.” Rae lifted a shoulder and grinned. She’d run through Leon the Professional about a hundred times a year, followed by Pulp Fiction and every other terrible film that had come out before ‘95. They were little things that stayed tethered to the past, but the familiarity of them was jarring. The people in a movie were stuck in their universe, trapped in a time that would never alter. Like her, they would never know anything more or less than the span of their film. She waved off Bea as she walked off, grabbing some snacks to begin to chew on.

Beneath her, the chair disappeared. Rae’s arm careened outwards sending groceries and plates flying off the counter. She gasped, and like a faulty light bulb-- blinked and disappeared.

She had expected an impact, but instead, her eyes opened to a dark room. Bare arms pressed to a cold surface, she was cramped into what felt like a coffin. Rae gasped, tucking air into lungs that felt compressed. Wildly, she felt around, letting her gaze adjust before coming to a conclusion as to where she was. This was a bathtub. “Bea?” She called softly, pushing the curtain aside to glance into the room. 

This was nothing she recognized from the In Between. Warm sunlight spilt into the room from the open window and she squinted at the tiles. A repeating pattern of pastels made her brows draw in, the layout seemed awfully familiar. Long limbs stretched out and joints cracked as she stepped out of the tub, glancing into the mirror. Her clothes had changed. The hoodie and leggings had been replaced for a tattoo choker, her eyes were lined with smeared makeup. 

Recognition hit like a bullet to the chest and she gasped. This was where she had died. Rae bit into her lip to swallow down a noise, looking instead at the array of products on the countertop. She didn’t recognize them, nor did she the images that were taped to the side of the glass. Confusion made her head begin to ache, and she did what any reasonable person would think to do.

Rae slipped out of the house through the skinny window in the bathroom.

[deadgirlwalkingxx]

[ welcome home, sucker ] [bea + rae ]

[rae-deaton]

deadgirlwalkingxx‌:

“That’s definitely the reason, but I’d like to think maybe we escaped a last minute party thrown by her.” It wouldn’t have been a first time. Bea remembered fondly to a night some time back when she found herself just exiting an alleyway, her sights set on a candy shop just across the road. Rahi saw her and frantically whispered- ‘She’s here. Run. It’s not too late for you.’ Bea was initially startled. That was until she heard Chrys’s voice. She was screaming about some event she’d thrown together. Rahi had been too late to avoid her gaze and too kind to tell her that he didn’t want to attend. And if it hadn’t been for him, Bea would have went the same way.

Bea started to put the groceries away, humming along to the song that Rae had been singing. Back when she was alive, Bea hadn’t been music obsessed. The only time she really listened to it was at iceskating, and that was typically if she was rehearsing for a solo or show of some kind. Other than that music wasn’t a big part of her life. Which was quite odd because her father had been fanatical about it. She’d wake up and hear him getting ready for work whilst listening to some song from the 70′s. One time she walked by her parents door and saw the two of them, arm-in-arm, dancing. “So what movie are we watching today?” She turned to her friend, back pressed up against the counter. “Old or new-er?” New being something from before she’d died, but after Rae’s death. 

“Are you sure you’re not projecting?” Rae teased, freeing another grape to bite into it. She remembered the last party she had been dragged to attend, how the sickly sweetness of the punch clung to her teeth and the terrible music had grated her nerves-- but because it was easier to please Chrys than to complain, she’d told her that she’d had a great time on the way out and promised to attend the next event. The lie was fervent, but still, she glanced at the windows worriedly, visualizing curtains to drape over them to hide the spill in of sunlight. Better safe than sorry.

“Leon the Professional,” the brunette answered with ease. It had been one of the last films that she’d seen before she’d died and it was one that remained the most prevalent in her mind. Her fingers reached up to touch the cropped ends of her hair-- a recent rewatch had inspired her to take up a Matilda-esque look, and so far, she found that it suited her. “Unless of course, you want to see something different.”

[deadgirlwalkingxx]

[ welcome home, sucker ] [bea + rae ]

[rae-deaton]

deadgirlwalkingxx‌:

Bea had spent the beginning hours of her day in town, gathering some supplies for the two person party her and Rae were going to throw. So maybe it wasn’t a party. Maybe it was their usual daily ritual of watching movies, making food, and lounging. In her mind she’d call it a party. It made everything sound much cooler. Today must be a quiet one, Bea thought to herself as she left town center and headed home. While out she hadn’t run into almost anyone. Off in the distance she’d seen Jake Cofax, but that was about it. Some days were like that, of course. People liked to relax and spend time alone or in a dwelling of their own. Bea and Rae knew that personally. Still, it was odd to see the In-Between so quiet. Of course, she hadn’t actually needed to run into town to do the shopping. She could have easily just conjured the items up at home. But where was the fun in that? People had shops for a reason, and Bea actually enjoyed some of the things others created rather than herself.

Bags in hand, she headed up the wooden steps into her house. A house which was positioned right against Rae’s. The two hopped from one to the other, depending on how they were feeling on a given day. Today they decided on Bea’s house. She pulled open the door, balancing the groceries carefully, and went inside. From the moment she came inside it was clear that Rae was there. Before visiting her friend in the living room she headed to the kitchen and dropped the bags off. “So,” she said as she popped around the corner. “Either Chrys has found a way to get rid of everyone or today is an extremely quiet day. The only person I saw was Jake, and he was quite a distance off so I didn’t even get to say hello.”

The days stretched out mercilessly, and Rae found herself at the mercy of the world that they had crafted. Today, she donned a band tee-- faded and worn not from age, but rather, from design, and she flipped through records. It devastated her that the collection that she had dreamed up for Bea’s home would never be as complete as she would like. There were discs that sat on the shelf with songs only known half to completion when they played loud in the living room she found herself jolted from whatever daydream she sunk herself into when the songs screeched to a halt. Today, it was the Four Seasons and she crooned along to the words, pausing only when she heard the door open.

Rae sprung from her chair, loping into the kitchen with the words on her lips, “Late December, back in sixty-threee--” She grinned widely, reaching into one of the bags to pluck a grape from its packaging, popping it into her mouth and chewing. “Hm,” she considered, settling onto one of the kitchen barstools with her feet swinging out to maintain the beat. “Maybe everyone’s decided to take it easy today.” Her head canted, “I think I heard a few people walking by earlier, you might have missed them.”

[xfinch]

❝We could build the school inside of the tree house. That could certainly be an option.❞ A safe place inside of a safe place. It would be good for them. Definitely good for Bea. Most of the time she didn’t mind the small town nature of the In-Between, but there were certain things she preferred to keep to herself and Rae. School was one of them. If they built it out in the open and Chrys just so happened to pass by, before they knew it she would be having nightly theater productions. If Rae and Bea wanted to make it private then they’d have to organize a town meeting. Public properties, the ones out in the open, were technically there for everyone to use. The person, or people, who dreamed them up were the only ones who could change them, or make them go away, but everyone could technically use them. However, Chrys wasn’t most people. While most of the people in town understood the nature of privacy, she didn’t quite seem to- when it came to others. She would insist that the duo call a town meeting for the discussion of a school on public property and make sure that everyone else knew that it would be private. The pain that would come out of that would make it completely not worth it for Bea. She didn’t want to discuss school in front of a room of people. The only person she wanted to discuss it with was Rae. And maybe their neighbor Tess- but she wasn’t one to participate in those sort of activities. Making the school in the safety of their backyards meant that they were guaranteed privacy. No one would be allowed in unless given expressed permission. Rae was always allowed to show up to Bea’s house because Bea let her. It was just one of those funny rules of the In-Between. No permission for entry to private property, no entrance.  The possibility of attending school again made Bea feel all warm inside. When they reached the blueprints room, Bea lingered in the doorway for a moment to mentally prepare herself for the journey they were about to take. Some people didn’t take the job quite as seriously, so their creations turned out to be not as finished. Doors would open into walls, or windows would look into blank spaces. But not Bea and Rae, they both planned everything completely and were patient about it. The room was filled with the things they would need for the planning- including a little alcove where there were was soda, water, juice, and snacks. Once Bea shut the door she took a rough draft sketch template, once they’d later transfer onto the final one, and let it roll out over the table. She also started working on arranging the pens and pencils on the table. Each girl had their own favorites for their own reasons, so Bea made sure they were delved out according to that. She then set her sights on taping down the edges of the template, just so that it would be easier to keep in place. ❝I would say pretty big at the base. Since we’re planning on it being so intricate, we want a proper base to be able to completely hold it up.❞ Not that the tree would fall and kill them…that would be impossible. One of the very few perks of already being dead. You can’t kill something that’s not alive. Oddly enough, Bea felt safe in the In-Between. Here you couldn’t hurt yourself. There was no physical pain. You could do almost anything you wanted. But that protection from physical pain didn’t extend into a protection from emotional pain. The emotional pain that could be felt in this place was huge. There were times when it was so overwhelming that Bea couldn’t get out of bed. She would pull the covers over her head and bury herself deep under a mound of pillows. Sometimes she would talk to Winona as if she was really there. But other times she was just silent. These rough times came closer together at the beginning, and slowly got further apart as time went on. Before she was having them multiple times a week- in the very early days, almost every day. But now it happened, perhaps, once a week. Some days it would last all day and others it would last a few hours. It simply depended. It was in those terrible moments that she was really thankful for Rae. Both girls had their times where they struggled with the pain. And whenever Bea did, Rae was right there. It was a comfort, almost like a security blanket. And Bea did the same for her, if she was ever in the situation. Being overwhelmed by emotion was easy, especially when you were dead.

The circular window that peaked out over the In-Between caught Bea’s eye as she was readying herself to sit down. She walked over to it and once she arrived she settled an elbow onto the bottom portion so she could stare out. It was a green season, so there wasn’t any snow or icey patches. A bit outwards, closer towards the town’s circle, Bea could see her ice skating rink.  A few paces away from that was a crafts stand, set up by one of the other residents. ❝How did we get here?❞ She looked over her shoulder after saying it, her eyes tracing the room until they landed on Rae. ❝This place just seems so unreal. Impossible that it exists. Where are we, exactly?❞

[rae-deaton]

Rae reached for a water, opening the cap to take a mouthful of cool water. She was never as creative as Bea, but she appreciated the invitation to what oftentimes felt like her innermost thoughts; the blue print room was the canvas for what they had never thought possible; here they could project anything and have it manifest in life. There were things that were better in death than they had been in life, Rae could find herself craving the most beautiful of blooms to have knot around her wrist and it would be there, made from nothing— signifying nothing. More often than not, the taller of the two girls craved a sort of normalcy. There was nothing within the realm of their own creation that could ease the bite of loss; though it provided a beautiful sort of numbing. “We wouldn’t have teachers in it,” she noted dreamily, “School would be out forever.”

Her fondest memories within education had been on the grounds of the place, but never during session. Perhaps their pasts reflected differently in this way, but Rae nodded, collecting condensation from the sides of her water bottle with the tip of her finger, letting the liquid bead there as she thought. “It’s going to take up most of the lake,” she decided, “Unless we build up; but even then it’ll have to be massive.” Her mind drifted to thoughts of a giant willow tree, reaching miles upward, housing the most beautiful and intricate of architectural feats. Rae craved the knowledge of how to make things look unique, but her youth in such a small town hadn’t exposed her to fresh ideas, but merely the brick and mortar and plastic siding that made up the place that she lived in now. It baffled her at first when she learned the rules of the In-Between. So little of the town above the earth had changed, but as time went on, she realized that this was all that those who watched the living knew how to create. There would never be a sky-scraper, it would never fit. Even her own creations with Bea were constructed of wood and dreams, patch-worked like a quilt.

The question caught her by surprise, making her lift her head up from the desk, dark brows knit. Rae glanced down at her doodle before finding her friend’s eyes, idly scratching out the figure that she had put onto the creamy paper. There was no limit to what they could create, but she could never have anything alive— what she craved the most. Death had been both a liberation and a sentence. Rae supposed that this was also a line of thought that was infinitely more poetic when one wasn’t living it. She let out a breath, heavy and wavering, lips pursing before she spoke. One always had to be careful when speaking with the dead; years in the In-Between had taught her this; they were all deeply sensitive creatures, easily wilted. Bea was one that she aspired to protect, to keep dark features bent in a smile. Happiness suited her in a way that implied she had been so in life; Rae treasured her for it.

“We’re unrighteously dead.” Three words that she had taken years to work out herself, the older girl let them drift between them, blooming like a bruise. Her own philosophies had never been asked before; Rae worked them out in private— everyone suffered enough in such a place without having to be presented with the idea that theirs was an existence of continual limbo. Her death had been an accident, youth stolen from her after a tumble with too many pills and a swig of alcohol. She’d craved a brilliant night out and had been awarded the horror of falling asleep and never quite catching her breath again. The deaths and the stories of all of those in the In-Between were mysteries to her, sometimes they were too painful to ask. She had learned that the wisest things to do were to focus on their half life, the one that they were existing in now—to those around her, the best way to face each day was to not look backwards.

It wasn’t an easy question to answer, Rae wasn’t even certain if it was one that she wanted to. Her hand fell over the dark stain that had been her drawing. “I think this was our second chance, purgatory before anywhere else.” Dark eyes drew sad, “I don’t know baby, probably dancing somewhere in the clouds, in a place that you can only dream about things but never actually hold them.” Her dreams were often considered to be nightmares, Rae felt haunted by her desires, her heavy heart seemed to sink into her boots. “I wonder if they’ve forgotten about us.” She looked back away, her own death had been years ago, she was likely a forgotten headstone, a rotting casket; a story told to children to keep them from racing off into the evening without a second thought to their mortality. Rae Deaton only existed in folk legend.

[xfinch]

‘Recreating a high school’, the words stabbed straight through her gut. Her immediate reaction was to scream no and try to stop herself from crying. School was something she had so loved in life. Every morning she woke up she was beaming to go. Her parents never had to pull her out of bed or worry if she would skip here or there. No. Bea loved school. She loved everything about it. From the feeling of accomplishment, to learning something new everyday- all of it was amazing to her. The grades she received were well earned, coming as the result of hours upon hours of studying and revising. Bea prided herself on being the highest ranking student in their class, it was something she was incredibly proud of. So for all of those years she was in school- that was her life. Iceskating came as a distant second. Nothing in her life shined quite as brightly as school did. In death it became something of a tease for her. One day shortly after her arrival she had tried dreaming up a school, but it was too painful. She broke down and abandoned it, but let it disappear back into the nothingness it had been moments before. And try as she might, dreaming up a college never quite worked for her. She hadn’t experienced it in life, so it wasn’t easy to capture the essence of it now that she was gone. But it had been so long. So very long since she was alive, that she felt somewhat distanced from it. It wasn’t quite as painful anymore. And now that she had Rae, it wouldn’t be painful at all. They could go together. It would be fun. ❝ A school would be amazing. ❞ It might even help them both heal a bit. Dying young was hard, but living after death could be even worse. ❝ We would have gone to the same one now that I think about it. ❞ What a weird thought. ❝ Same school, different time. ❞ Bea hadn’t been alive when Rae had, but the two still would have went to Cape Jane’s public school. Separated by a number of years, they could have even sat in the same auditorium seat at some point. When Rae attended, Bea imagined all of the wacky styles that could have been seen. She saw it now in parts of Rae’s wardrobe. It was evident that the two lived in different times. Even if, in the grand scheme of things, the years that separated them weren’t all that much.  Bea hadn’t ever been a religious person, and it certainly did a nosedive after her murder. She couldn’t imagine there being a god, not after what she experienced. If there was a god it seemed unforgivable that he would let one of his creations go through something so horrible.  ❝ We can have numerous floors. Some with flat ceilings and others with vaulted ones. Some rooms with pools and iceskating rinks and beaches and everything we can think of. ❞  Bea was overcome with excitement at the mere thought. She hopped off of the inner tube and grabbed Rae’s hand, pulling her towards shore. Her curls bounced as she went, wading along, chattering about what else they could possibly dream up. When they finally reached the shoreline, Bea again took to pulling by the hand all the way back up to her house. ❝ I’m going to change, and once I’m back we can get to work in the blueprints room. ❞ She charged up the steps, taking them two or three at a time. Halfway down the hall she nearly slipped and fell straight onto the hardwood, but managed to catch herself at the last second. To say that she was excited might have been a bit of an understatement. This tree house could be their escape inside of the In-Between. Away from all of the small town drama that came along with it. Don’t get her wrong- she had grown to love the In-Between. She enjoyed town meetings and holiday planning and weather planning. It was amazing that they could control their world in a way that wasn’t possible on earth. But sometimes it was all just too close together. It would be nice to have a place to escape to. As she pulled on a comfortable sweatshirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants she made a mental note to tell Winona about all of this in her next letter.               ❝ Okay- I’m ready. ❞ With her bunny slippers and comfy outfit, she was prepared for however long it would take them to do this.

[rae-deaton]

She didn’t see the pain that flickered across her friend’s face until it bloomed brightly in beautiful features. A soft lip downturned, dark brows tugged in; creasing just a hair’s width between. Perhaps this was the biggest crime in being dead, one forgot how delicate you had to be with other people. Their bodies may be gone, but their hearts still processed every blow— in her own way, Bea still bled. School wasn’t a trigger for Rae, in her life she hadn’t spent much time in the halls there. Vaguely she could remember lockers and the spot under the stairwell that she shared her first blunt. The parking lot just outside of the place came to her much clearer, the hoods of the cars that they stretched out and laughed on; the place where she’d had her first kiss, under the darkness of the bleachers. She never cared for school sports, but that night; recollection made her grin, she wore the brand of the school mascot seared on her chest with pride.

Maybe she missed it a little. The girl’s lips twitched into a smile as she turned her face into the sunlight, blinking as she took in the way her best friend looked in the sun. “We probably did,” the girl said, brightening at the thought. All the gaps that she had in her memory, where the school were— the other girl could likely fill in. The spots in the hallways that she wasn’t quite sure about locker number or colour, the actual size of the principal’s office; Rae did know the dimensions of the spare room used for detentions very well, but it made her sad to think that her high school years had been spent investing so much time between those four walls instead of more productive ones. “I wonder if the people I knew growing up are teachers now.” The question was offered softly, she wondered a lot about those that she had left behind; thoughts of them creeping in and stealing her focus from time to time. “Dress code was so crazy back then, I don’t remember any of the girls wearing underwear when they went up the stairs— can you believe it?” That was a rumour that had never left her, she’d been a junior the year that she had died; Rae had never gotten the chance to be on top of the school pyramid and find out all the truths for herself.

Lips pursed together, she laughed as they rocketed onto land. Bare feet touched the wood of the deck for only a moment before she dreamed herself up some shoes. Lake water made her skin squelch against the material, something that made her nose wrinkle. For a tiny person Bea  moved fast, Rae’s spindly limbs motoring behind her; giggling trailing them like a swarm of bees. One of the things she loved about living in the strange part between life and death— she didn’t feel gone enough to consider such an existence death— was that there were no animals, no mosquitos or pets; just the buzzing and trills to remind them that they still remained in their memories. She nodded quickly at her friend’s words, sorting out the hoodie she would be wearing herself. The water beaded cold on her tan skin, the comforting material of the clothing drew her in and she headed for the blue prints room.

It was painted blue, something that had made her laugh, with a massive surface taking up the majority of the place. Settling down on a stool, Rae plucked up a pencil, tucking her legs beneath her. “We should figure out how big we want this tree first. We need a sturdy base.”

[xfinch]

Bea let the water lap over her, eyes still remaining tightly closed. Closed so tightly that when she squeezed them, her entire sky went black. Then she relaxed just a bit and little dots of yellow sunshine pushed their way through. But it wasn’t that, the thing that pulled her from her temporary dream state was Rae splashing some water towards her. Bea grinned and turned from floating on her back to just wading in her water, facing Rae. With one thought she dreamt up an inner tube and watched it plop right down in front of her so she could shimmy right onto it. When she was younger her and Winona would jump off of the docks and swim, swim, swim till their hearts bled. Her parents, or Winona’s parents, would always make jokes about the sharks coming to get them, However, that joke only worked on them till they entered school. Both were smart enough to disprove it. So while some of their peers parents were successfully prying their children from the water with a stupid shark joke, Bea and Winona’s had to go about it a different way. Without Rae, her time up in the In-Between would have been much harder. They knew each other- likes and dislikes, they knew when to prod and when to back off. When one of them was having a bad day, they knew just what to do. Sometimes that meant pushing the other to do things, but other times it meant letting them stay in bed and making sure the curtains were drawn tightly so no light got into the room. ❝Oh my god- we definitely should!❞ The idea of a treehouse in their backyard was possibly one of the best additions they had come up with over the years. It could have multiple levels and rooms and libraries. The rooms could go on for days if they thought it up right. ❝We would have to plan it out detail by detail. I think it calls for a good drawing session in the blueprints room.❞ Years ago, when the two realized how greatly they clicked, they dreamt up a blueprints room in Bea’s place that they could sit in and plan everything. In a way, it was therapeutic, they could take ideas and really make them become reality. And it was done so in a fashion that wasn’t possible down on Earth- for them, at least. Neither came from families that had exorbitant amounts of money. Bea’s was dirt broke her entire life, but she never felt badly because of it. It was just the reality of her situation that she learned to accept before she even understood it. At five she became aware of the existence of college, and soon after she realized the money that was required to attend college. And after an even shorter amount of time, she realized her family wouldn’t have the money that would allow her to attend college. As she got older she watched the sadness in her parents eyes whenever certain topics came up. Ones that required money to fund- like an ice skating competition on the East Coast when she was nine, or a journey to France her freshmen year of high school. Ice skating was her second focus after school, and much of the time she found herself sacrificing it in order to study or do homework. But at least with ice skating, her lessons were free. They were paid for after the ice skating coach noticed her. And now she helped with private lessons in order to help the rink when it came to funding her lessons. ❝We could put the tree house right there-❞ She wagged her finger towards a point in their backyards where they sloped together. A perfect slot for a tree and tree house. ❝What do you think?❞ Drawing blueprints had been quite difficult at first, but she had gotten better at it over the years. When it came to art-related things, Bea had struggled with it in life. Drawing, writing, painting, all of that was Winona’s deal. She was amazing at it, and ‘amazing’ wasn’t even a big enough word to describe how great her cousin’s talent was. Bea could memorize books and digest theories then spit them right back out with complete understanding. That was her forte. But up here she had to adjust in certain ways, and that was one of them. Her drawing skills had improved- just marginally. ❝Oh it could be amazing, Rae. A cute dining room, a cozy library- a long, rectangular room where you could bike or longboard. We could have the deck around the tree house have a hammock in it that hangs down over the water. ❞ Her list could go on for days if she really thought about it.

[rae-deaton]

She hummed as they floated, the song in mind likely stripped from a musical she’d seen before she’d died; if asked Rae wasn’t able to produce the title or the name of the tune, but it clung to her mind like a leech, knocking around and haunting her. It wasn’t anything anyone else knew either, when she queried about it the girl had drawn blank stares— now she wasn’t entirely sure if the music had been of her own invention instead. She didn’t have to lift her head to see the grin that tugged at Bea’s lips, in the back of her mind she could see freckles and dimples, brown eyes glittering with something new and exciting; with one hand trailing in clear water, Rae laughed. Her fingertips felt like they were about to prune, but she didn’t feel like letting them rest back on her stomach— speaking in her lazy way.

“You know what I was also thinking about,” she now tipped her head up, finding Bea’s own floating ring drifting away from her. “Recreating a high school.” It was a more intimate thought, something she’d harboured on her tongue before serving. “I don’t remember mine so much anymore,” the words were hushed and fragile. “I think I’d like to make it again so it doesn’t slip away.” Often she was reminded that she had been dead for so much longer than her companion had been, that the world had continued on without her when she had ceased to exist. Perhaps she was bitter that it hadn’t been altered in some way in her death, perhaps the fact that everything still moved forward put things into perspective. “We’re gonna be in that blue prints room forever. I want the house to be the tallest thing, I want to touch heaven when I wake up and stretch in the morning.”

Heaven was a sticky sort of concept for her as well, religion in general made her wonder— when she looked around at the lost souls around her; no matter who they had prayed to in life, they were all here. It was nothing she could whisper by Bea’s ear while they had their sleepovers, her friend was of the purer varieties. Gentle, sweet Bea, Rae would do her no disservice by making her sad. She used her hand to paddle through the water, linking her floating ring to the other girl’s by swinging her leg around the skater’s, twining them together for a moment. “If we level the land,” Rae said critically, squinting at the spot between the two properties. It was at the spot where her labyrinth ended and the nothingness began, green grass as smooth and level as though it had been rolled went on for as far as the eye could see, but she liked it that way. The cleanness spelled possibility, anything could crop up in the empty space should she wished it to. “I think it could work really well. We need flowers at the base and gorgeous ivy for the rest of the way.”

Rae laughed, picturing herself skidding around in a room up a thousand feet high, “We need an elevator too, I don’t think I could do that many stairs.” She pointed up at the clouds. “Like Jack in the beanstalk, it should go up and up and up.”

[xfinch]

IN-BETWEEN [ Rae + Bea ]

Bea’s brown curls bounced as she did a quick spin ❝ It would be amazing. ❞ Growing up, she hadn’t been a fantastical dreamer. At least, not in the sense that most think. As a child didn’t spend hours dreaming up fake worlds or reading about mermaids or unicorns or other fun things. Her free time was always spent dreaming about the future, the tangible, foreseeable, future. She twittered away about to her parents at breakfast, to her counselors at school, to her cousin on the docks near their house. Even in first grade she’d follow her teachers around at recess, talking their ear off about her future plans. And whenever she did talk about it, those words were accompanied by a wide,  innocent, grin. The kind of smile, and happiness, that was only to be given to someone for a short period of time. Her death must have torn a hole in her family’s life. Most days she wanted them to have moved on, to be happy and healthy and over it. But then there were days when she’d whisper ‘Please, don’t forget me.’ over and over, like a mantra. And she’d hope that, somehow, they would get the message. Then, like a rubber band snapping back into shape, she realized how selfish it was. It wasn’t that she wanted them to be in pain, she just wanted to be remembered somehow.

She looked out through the kitchen window, eyes drawn to the robin’s egg blue sky. With one thought she could change it to be stormy.   ❝ So maybe outer space is a bit too much to think up in one go. ❞ That sort of adventure would take them days of planning.  ❝ Instead, for now— - ❞ Bea reached out, grabbing Rae’s hand. As she pulled her outside, down the sloping hill in their adjoining backyards, she laughed lightly. The grass was dewy and her feet almost slipped out from under her, but she skidded to a halt once they hit the dock. Bea let go of Rae’s hand and ran down the dock,  jumping off once she hit the end. The water enveloped, warm, like a blanket, and she let herself hang under it for a moment. She closed her eyes and let her limbs hang around her. For a moment she could pretend that  she was back on earth. She could even pretend that at any moment Winona would come  jumping in. The creative, whimsical part of her brain, awoken by Rae, even temporarily tricked herself into believing that maybe Rae could be there too. Then when she kicked her way to the surface, an all too familiar scenery greeted her and reminded her that she wasn’t on earth. But she felt somewhat at ease, at least she had Rae. She raised her hand, waving at her. ❝ Come in!! ❞

[rae-deaton]

She let her fingers fit between Bea’s, looking down for a moment at the way they both knitted, pale and bony— artist’s hands. Rae wouldn’t protest, her lips tugged up in a smile that changed the way the light hit her eyes, shimmering from a brown to a green to a hazel. The air smelled like summer time, the crispness before a rain, she could almost swear that there was a cricket’s song cooing in the thick grass. Even though her own home was just beside Bea’s, her backyard was a much different place. Bordered by a tall cast iron fence, the property was lined with sinister points and ornate swirls, the edge a maze of her own design— each time she lost herself within it, she changed the puzzle; though the torture of creating labyrinths in your own mind was that you would always hold the key to solving the puzzle. Beats back yard was a little different, down the slope it lost any sort of affiliation to the standard idea of a backyard, as though the two were suddenly swept away to a cottage destination.

It was infinitely less terrifying than the place that Rae had dreamed up for herself, but perhaps that spoke of the way their minds worked, the way gears and cogs churned before spitting out answers about the girls who drew up these worlds that they lived in. She laughed, watching as the dark water swallowed up her friend, feet skidding to a rapid halt. Rae had taught herself to swim in death, her summers spent sprawled at the community pool had been simply to serve as decor— it was truly because of Bea that she had any interest in swimming at all. “You know I hate it,” the brunette whined, kicking off her shoes as she picked out the brightness of her friend’s smile; how could she ever say no? Pinching her nose shut, she took a running start, slipping into the water like a knife into butter. It was when she emerged that Rae took a gasp of air, laughing as if to shout to the world that she was alive— the irony never rang true. Splashing a wave of water towards Bea was her first order of business, before dreaming up a floating ring and a bathing suit to match. “We should get a tree house,” Rae said, turning her head to grin.

[xfinch]

IN-BETWEEN [ Rae + Bea ]

Bea stood at the sink, letting the delicious smell of the roast fill her button nose. The countertop was hardwood, polished and beautiful, that shined like the first day she thought it up. There were little pictures hung up everywhere in the house. Ones she took with a polaroid camera she carried with her. Some were of scenery, but most were of her and her friends. Her and Rae driving down a sun-lit road. Another taken mid-air as they jumped from a pier. There was also one with Chrys, a feather boa wrapped around the girl’s neck. Bea managed to snap it as Chrys walked out of a theater production she must have thought up. Bea let her thoughts drift away for a moment, drifting back to memories from her time on earth. It always seemed to work that way. Happy moments in the In-Between broken up by shots of memories that she couldn’t control. It seemed genuinely unfair that they were forced to live here without seeing their loves ones, but they were still forced to retain the memories of the life they lived. Bea remembered her mother and father waking her up on her eighteenth birthday, not two days before she’d be murdered, all smile from ear to ear. Then she got up and went to her desk and looked out of the window which faced Winona’s. A drawing up in her window that was beautifully drawn with lettering that read ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEA’. She remembered the first time she got her Salchow jump down. It seemed unfair. But she had made a life for herself up in the In-Between. Her and Rae were usually hooked at the hip, sometimes spending entire days simply planning a grand adventure for the next day. “What to do, what to do.” Bea turned around, placing the palms of both hands against the counter top. With a little hop she managed to push herself onto the counter, leaning back on the cabinets. In a world of constant possibility, it was surprisingly easy to get bored. Perhaps ‘bored’ wasn’t the correct word, but simply the easiest way to describe the odd feeling. It was like being surrounded by a crowd of people, and feeling utterly alone. That was how it felt sometimes. But then there was Rae, and Tess, and even Chrys. And when she thought about it in that way- she didn’t feel quite as alone.  Now, with Rae standing in front of her she felt an odd sense of ease. Life in the In-Between was normalizing, and Bea wasn’t sure how to take that. Holding onto earth didn’t bring her any closer to it, no matter how hard she clung to it. It just made her further away. So she began jumping into life in the In-Between headfirst, letting time overtake her. She couldn’t say how long she had been there. Time passed weirdly, but she knew it was a while.

“We could create an awesome obstacle course. OOOH— -” She got really excited excited at her next thought. “Or we could think up a space station. Don’t shoot me down yet!! Just wait-” She hopped off of the counter skidding to the middle of the kitchen, arms up and moving in front of her as she began explaining the idea. “We could create a space station and a moon-like place. It could be like we lived in it!”

[rae-deaton]

She looked over at her friend with an expression that mirrored dreaminess, in another life, Rae supposed she could have loved her. Dark hair, a passion that pushed her through each day— Bea was a beautiful creature; one that she was too fond of to ruin with the whims and toying of love. Often she craved someone to reach for, to brush her fingertips against and to claim as her own; though with Bea they had a different kind of possession, a mutual responsibility. Had Rae of had siblings in life, the ideas would have knit more easily in her mind, but instead she swallowed this cocktail with difficulty, burying her face into her elbow, peering up just enough to watch the other girl get settled.

“Space station,” she breathed, looking up and biting back a laugh as excitement took over her companion’s control, watching as the ideas bounced around behind her eyes, projected in a babble. Her laugh was smothered by her hand, adorned by rings and bracelets. “Only if we can ride shooting stars there and banish Chrys into a black hole.” Her grin was toothy, head tilted to the side. It wasn’t often that she was the logical head between the two, offering a suggestion with a raised finger. “What about gravity? I kind of like the idea of floating around.”

[xfinch]

In-Between [Rae + Bea]

The wage gap between the wealthy and the poor was quite large in Cape Jane. Back on earth, her family was poor- dirt poor. Her and Winona shared clothes and school supplies. Her parents had to struggle for every single thing the family had. They were so excited, and proud, when she got into Dartmouth. Despite not being able to afford it, they saved up for months in order to afford Dartmouth rain coats. Then you had people like Chrys who came from so much wealth they didn’t understand the value of money. Aside from being a little bitter and a lover of vengeance, Chrys was harmless. More entertaining to watch than anything else. ❝ I thought it was pretty nice myself. ❞ She replied, rubbing her thumb in a circle at the bottom of the skating dress. ❝ You are a lifesaverrr. ❞ The ‘r’ drew out as she twirled from the living room and into the kitchen. It was funny how certain phrases stuck, and were now ironic. Anything to do with life, or the living, was sort of a joke. While some phrases from earth stuck, others sort of faded into non-existence. What was also interesting, from a linguistics standpoint, was that they also developed their own catchy phrases. Ones that probably would would get laughed at back in Cape Jane. The food in the oven smelled like heaven, even without the oven door being opened. When she did open it, the scent that emerged made her almost pass out with joy. ❝ Okay… ❞ Using oven mits she got the dish out, hopping back into the living room. ❝ So what are we thinking for our first of the list activity. ❞ Somewhere between the kitchen and the living room, she thought up a different outfit. And by the time she sat down, she was in a comfy set of overalls and fluffy socks. She fell back onto the carpet and stared up at the ceiling where her glow in the dark star stickers were. One eye closed, she traced them with her finger. ❝ We have forever. ❞ Literally, she thought. ❝ So my schedule is pretty much open. ❞

[rae-deaton]

Her own closet was made of things that she could remember from her time, but the brushes from the girls of whom she saw the most was starting to be present; Rae often found herself slipping into skinny jeans of her own invention, lounging in what truly had to be the most comfortable clothing in the world— yoga pants. Her current outfit was a mix of the both, leggings   tucked under a large plaid shirt, it reminded her of something she’d seen one of her friends wearing back when she was alive; when fingers brushed over the soft flannel, it made her heart ache to wonder where they were now. Did they miss her?

Cooking was easy, she’d had to feed herself when she was young, it was either that or be fed by the neighbour, a portly old lady with a love for casseroles— to save the lining of her stomach she began to make her own meals. Rae trailed Bea into the kitchen, fingers carding through her long hair, stopping at the ends to evaluate if a trim was needed. “It’s roast chicken,” she said to spoil the surprise before the other girl could lift the top, her hip resting against the counter. “I was thinking you and I could watch something.” In her hands she summoned dishes, trailing behind the other girl like an afterthought, settling down with her friend.

“Or make something.” Full lips curved upwards as if tugged by invisible strings. “I want another car, another place to visit.” In her grip a drink found itself, she took a sip, it was sweet lemon tea— though had it been any warmer outside Rae was certain she’d tug her companion outdoors to dance with the fireflies with a few beers buzzing around in her blood. Her lips felt puckered most days, she day dreamed of the moments that she had once been kissed. “It’s an awfully small world that we have here, isn’t it?”

[xfinch]

So far, the day had proved itself to be quite fruitful. Not only had she both started and finished a book, she also had mastered another skill in skating. Bea made a mental note to remember all the little details and write them in her letter to Winona she was going to write later that night. The weather outside was cold- perfect for skating. But she hadn’t thought it up that way. That must have been the result of someone else. Putting her skates next to the back door, she poured herself a nice cup of ice water. If everything was falling on schedule, Rae should be waiting in  the living room. They were due for a good gossip night. Or at least one that started with talking and ended with binge watching movies and probably crying. ❝ If you’re late to our annual night of activities, my heart is going to be broken! ❞  When she did manage to find her way to her living room, there Rae was. ❝ I don’t mean to break your heart, but you just missed Chrys having a    meltdown that ended in her dramatically throwing herself on the    ground. ❞ It was quite a sight to see. Lot’s of fake crying and fanning   herself. Even after all this time, she wasn’t used to Chrys. Or the In-   Between, really. When she was alive her family was poor- dirt poor, to   be exact. They didn’t have any extra money lying around to get fun things   but in the In-Between anyone could have anything they wanted. Including   the shiny new skating outfit she managed to design all in her head and    immediately bring to life. ❝ Also, tell me what you think of this. ❞ Before   flopping down on the couch she did a showy little move, twisting just   slightly so the glitter on the lilac, velvety material twinkled. 

[rae-deaton]

Stomach pressed to a carpet that was more plush than it had been in life, Rae flipped through a magazine, the images changing as her imagination drew up another sort of advertisement to squint at. She had spent all day combing through dark hair, fooling around with products and makeup to make her eyes appear larger and more startling— painting her nails an inky black. At around evening the girl often wound her way back to the house which they all spent their time— and as if plucking up the tail end of her thoughts, Bea strolled in. “Hello honey,” the brunette teased, tipping her head back, “Dinner’s waiting in the oven.”

With her chin propped up in her hand, she grinned, teeth bared in a way that only seemed to present themselves in the other girl’s company. “What was it this time? Did she realize that her shoes were knock offs?” Though she  liked Chrys, she too often found her hysterics to be over  the top— Rae hadn’t come from money either. She laughed, getting  up from her spot on the floor, stretching so that each joint popped and protested. It was after she settled back down on the couch that she moved, reaching forward to pluck the fabric between her fingertips, rubbing them to get a feel of the softness. “That’s gorgeous. It reminds me of a flower that’s gotten all dewy.”